Most of my life I have created artwork of one type or another.  While most of that work has never seen the light of day, Wolves have repeatedly appeared in my sketches and other creative work whether it was just for me or intended for a wider audience.  In retrospect. Wolf has also clearly guided many of the choices I have made in my life outside of art.  When hiking in deep wilderness areas I have often become aware of Wolf's presence.

As a result of a life long set of experiences involving Wolf, often without any conscious intent on my part, I decided to make the capstone project of my creative life a truly deep dive into all the aspects of Wolf.  The 77 Wolves Project is the ongoing result.

77 WOLVES PROJECT OVERVIEW:

The 77 Wolves Project has been evolving in my mind and work for awhile and the project is really starting to take off - concepts, artwork, music, and most importantly the growing Pack - All of you!

As you read through this page you will realize there are a LOT more than 77 pieces of Wolf art being generated in this project... I have probably passed that number on the way to this point just in the preparation phases.  So, what does the 77 mean?

77 Aspects of Wolf:  The 77 refers to the number of Aspects of Wolf I am diving deep into for this project.  Throughout all of the pieces of the project the Aspect is either the full title (as in the case of the musical pieces) or the first part of the title for the visual art pieces.

Each of these Aspects is being explored through four visual arts series and one musical series.  Each of these five series represents the ultimate creative exploration of each of the 77 Aspects of Wolf.  Each of the Aspects represents some fundamental part of what it means to be Wolf, not the physical parts of Wolf and Wolf's Environment.  Each Aspect's name is a verb, implying action and the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and spirit of Wolf revealed in those actions.

The five series approach the Aspects of Wolf using different media (four of them visual and one aural).  These are intended to approach each Aspect using five creative perspectives to assist in exploring the Aspect as deeply and widely as can be done from one creative mind.  The Pack (You) are also involved in how this project evolves.

Embryonic Series (Pencil or Charcoal Drawings):  These are the concept explorations for the other visual media.  The concepts that make it far enough along to have something interesting to contribute to the project appear in these pieces.  These put the foundations of the project out front before additional layers and components are added to the drawings chosen for further development.

Evolutions Series (Conte Crayon Paintings):  Conte Crayon is a unique medium most similar to a hard pastel and produces a textural result I find perfect for this color development of each version of each Aspect.  These pieces build upon the pencil or charcoal drawings in the first Series by adding color and sometimes additional elements that make sense as color gets added to the initial foundation drawing..

Ephemeral Series (Digital Paintings):  The digital paintings are created in a very high resolution file allowing for sharp large metal prints (the primary intended mode of reproduction).  These are executed in very limited palettes or subtle color with fine details left to the viewer to fill in from their own spirit.  The digital paintings have their own distinctive highly layered look very different than the conte crayon or pencil/charcoal pieces.

Elemental Series (Ink and Metal):  The series using inks and metal flakes (gold, silver, copper primarily) is created in a pointillistic style and are typically the most strongly colored of the media approaches being used in the 77 Wolves project.  The Originals of these build on the earlier charcoal, conte crayon, and digital paintings foundations. These are built from many layers of metal flakes and transparent ink dots slowly building the final deep image.  Here is an example of the style, at the time of this writing this Series has not had any pieces finished in the 77 Wolves project.  They are coming soon!

Echo Series (Music):  The decision to add original music compositions to the project added the aural and time components to the project.  The songs that have lyrics also add a linguistic/poetic component.  These are created both to accompany a visual art piece or an entire Aspect as well as to stand alone as a piece of music worthy of repeated experience.  The combination of deeply absorbing the artwork while listening to the music in a contemplative, meditative, or shamanic state leads concurrently to the greatest depths and heights the project can help achieve.

How long will the 77 Wolves Project last?

The answer to this was foreshadowed at the beginning of this page.  77 Wolves is the capstone of my art career.  I will be creating and evolving these Wolves until I retire from my a creative career (most likely when I go to fully and permanently join Wolf in the spirit world).  This is a true Labor of Love and will not stop until I stop working on anything.

I have nothing left in my bucket list that I want to accomplish other than development of this deep dive Wolf project.  I have led a truly awesome life so far and for that I am grateful for Wolf's continual presence and guidance.  My life long friend and mate has passed away and this project honors her more than you (or I) will ever fully understand.  I am near retirement from my job and it is time to get laser focused on this last phase of my productive time in this earthly form.  In a nutshell, there is little left to draw my attention away from the 77 Wolves.

That is my commitment to Wolf and to Pack.

Are you Wolf?  Join the Pack!

David Herman - Artist:  Celebration of Life Eternal, LLC